Little One Read online

  “And I’m keeping you,” she replies.

  Chapter Ten

  Gray

  I wake to something tickling my neck. I force my eyes open and realize something is tickling between my legs too. Rolling over, I grin. I must have fallen asleep. Valentine has turned off the bedroom light but there’s enough moonlight seeping in through the curtains for me to see him. He presses a hot kiss to my mouth and his fingers continue their path over my pussy. I let out an indulgent moan when his fingers find my clit. I’m tender between my legs but it feels good, so good, to have given my virginity to Valentine, and it was worth every second of discomfort.

  Valentine. The name fits him so perfectly. It’ll take me a while to get used to but to know that I’m one of the few who actually knows his name is amazing. As soon as he said it, I knew there was no going back. Whatever he wanted, I’d give it to him. My body, my soul, my heart. I don’t know if he’s realized it yet but I’m head over heels in love with him.

  “I want to take you over and over,” he warns me. “I’d let you rest but, Little One, you won’t be getting much more for the rest of the day. Not after how crazy you’ve made me.” He presses a finger inside me and I gasp.

  “What about me? You made me crazy too. I wasn’t the one pushing you away.”

  “Call it a moment of madness.” He kisses my neck. “How could I resist you?”

  Part of me wants to stop him and quiz him. What next? What now? How do we tell my brother? Did he really mean I’m his?

  But I’ve spent too much time worrying and thinking things over these past few days. For now, all I want to do is enjoy being with Valentine. He adds another finger and rubs his thumb over my clit. God, he makes me feel things I didn’t even know I ever could. I realize now that it wasn’t just my brother’s reputation keeping boys at bay. I pushed them away too. I was saving myself for someone so much better.

  Valentine.

  A hand to my breast, he maneuvers me so my back is to his chest and he eases my legs apart. As soon as he enters me, he moans.

  “So fucking tight.”

  So big. God he’s so big. I feel his cock pushing deeper, filling me. He uses a finger to play with my nub and I close my eyes to absorb the feeling of his arms wrapped around me and his big body so close. I’ve never felt so protected or cherished.

  The hand cradling my breast settles on my hip. He moves faster and I moan. His breaths are hot and harsh in my hair. The pleasure builds, getting strong with each thrust. He flicks my clit and I feel his cock tense inside me.”

  “Come now, Little One.”

  Like I could deny him. One little command and I’m coming hard. He holds me tight, his grip firm around my body as my orgasm tears through me. He follows soon after, a harsh groan skimming my hair and I feel him fill me, the sensation still so new but wonderful. I hold his arms tight around me and pray for it to never end. For all I care I hope Danny never find the guys who want us dead. I’d rather disappear with Valentine forever than return to my old life.

  He holds me until our breathing steadies and when he leaves my side to go to the bathroom, my heart aches to have him back with me. I don’t know what the future holds for us. I guess I’ll go back to school and continue my studies. I still want to work with children and I need to go to college for that. It’s not the big business-like career many would expect from me but having seen Danny work all day long, I knew that sort of thing wasn’t for me. I guess I didn’t realize quite how much it really wasn’t for me. Danny wouldn’t want me following in his footsteps any more than I would wish to continue what he’s started.

  But will Valentine stay in the business? Will Danny after this threat? Surely they must realize it’s too dangerous. Eventually they’ll get caught or hurt and I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to either of them.

  Valentine rushes into the room in a blur. He snatches me off the bed and flings me to the floor, his body covering mine. It takes a moment for me to register what’s going on. This isn’t him wanting more of me. He has his sweats and shirt on and…and a gun in his hand. He lifts his head and presses a finger to my lips. I swallow and nod.

  He shifts off me and pushes a bundle of clothes into my hand. My sundress, I realize. He must have grabbed it from the bathroom. “Put this on.” He shoves my sandals toward me.

  I don’t question him and fight to slip it over my head while keeping low. Valentine edges around the door, peering down the hallway, gun in hand. I remain where I am, frozen and not sure what I should do. Maybe it’s just an animal that’s spooked him? Maybe there’s nothing out there at all. But Valentine is no fool. If he thinks there’s someone out there, there must be, and chances are they’re here to kill me.

  Weirdly I don’t feel as scared as I thought I would. My heart pounds hard and I can feel sweat gathering on my palms but my mind is strangely blank.

  Valentine reaches out a hand to me and I grab it. The warmth of his palm and the determined set of his jaw tells me all I need to know. He’ll keep me safe.

  I ease up from the floor and he leads us through to his bedroom. He jerks his head toward the window. At the same time, there’s a click. If I had been sleeping, I never would have heard it. It sounds as though someone has picked the lock. Footsteps follow and my heart rate picks up. Valentine moves as though there’s no urgency, opening the window and lifting me up. I force myself through the narrow gap and wonder how the heck he’s going to manage. I drop to the ground and freeze as twigs crunch underfoot. Valentine follows only moments later, somehow wriggling his big form through the window. He lands more stealthily than I did and takes my hand again.

  A light flicks on in the house. Apparently whoever has come after us doesn’t care for being quiet anymore. We move quicker now, following the line of the house and crouching when we come to the corner. There’s a car farther up the road, lights lowered so as not to shine into the house. Valentine must have spotted it, though.

  “Follow my every move,” he whispers. “Stay behind me at all times. Use me as a shield. Don’t try to run.”

  I gulp and nod. He releases my hand and we inch toward his car, keeping low to the ground. Had they not turned on the lights in the house, we’d have probably made it to the car in the cover of darkness but now the lights are shining out of the windows and there’s no hiding. I guess we’re just praying they stay in the house until we get to the car.

  Valentine moves quicker now that the car is near. He drags me down behind the side of it and presses me against the metal with his body while he peers over the hood.

  “When I open this door, get low in the seat.”

  I nod again, not trusting myself to speak. He opens the door and the clunk it makes ricochets through the silent woods. Someone shouts from the parked car and the lake house door crashes open. I dive into the seat and press myself as low as I can. Something loud cracks through the air. I clap my hands over my ears as Valentine slams the door shut. As he sprints past the front of the car, another bang rattles through me and I see the glass in the front door shatter. It’s only when Valentine reaches the driver door do I realize he’s shooting at them.

  I sink lower and grab his arm when he opens the door as though I can pull him in quicker. He lets off one more shot to cover us before yanking the door shut and gunning the car into life. The world becomes a blur as he spins the car and careens down the road.

  “Keep low,” he shouts over the sound of the engine.

  Behind me, glass shatters. I scream. We move so fast that in the dark night I can hardly tell where the road is. We screech past the parked car and I see a man diving into the driver’s seat.

  They’re going to follow us, I realize, reality closing in on me. Nausea wells in my stomach. Dread punches me hard in the chest. Valentine was almost shot. Both of us could have been dead in our beds. What was meant to be the most amazing night of my life had turned into one of the most deadly.

  Lights behind us tell me the car is following. Valentine does a sharp turn and I feel the texture of the road change beneath the car. We bounce from side to side.

  “Buckle up,” he orders, his gaze intent on the road. With the headlights off, I don’t even know how he can tell where the road is—or what maybe used to be a road.

  I fight to buckle up but my hands are shaking too much. He reaches over and grabs the strap from me, pushing it home. The lights behind seem to fade but we continue on this path for what seems like forever. The sickness in my stomach wells in my throat and I have to force myself to breathe deep so I don’t throw up.

  We finally hit normal road again and I let out a long breath.

  Valentine glances over. “You’re okay? You’re not hurt?”

  “No, no, I’m fine. Are you?”

  “All good.” He reaches over and squeezes my hand. “You can sit up now. We’ve got enough distance between us.”

  I’m cold suddenly. The night is cool but not enough to make me feel as though I’ve been dunked in that lake again. I wrap my arms around myself. I feel like we’re back to where we started. Me, in his car, with no idea what just happened or where we’re going. Except I know better this time. Those men found us somehow and wanted us dead.

  Valentine reaches into the back of the car and flings his jacket at me. It’s the same one I wore the first night. I pull it around myself, too stiff with fear to put it on properly yet. I breathe in the scent of worn leather and the sickness in my stomach eases.

  “How did they find us?” I ask through chattering teeth.

  “Someone ratted us out. Whoever looks after the house, perhaps. Or maybe they were threatened. Apparently whoever did this scares people more than Danny does.”

  “Thank God we were awake.”

  “God doesn’t have much to do with it,” he says bitterly.

  I fall quiet. I want to ask more questions but there’s a hard, determined look to him. Gaze on the road, fingers gripping the wheel, this guy here is far from the man who just made love to me.

  This is the guy Danny sees. The guy who works for my criminal brother and does God knows what for him. A hollow feeling starts up in my stomach. I thought I loved him, but what if I don’t really know him at all?

  Chapter Eleven

  Valentine

  She’s trembling. Her eyes are closed but her body keeps shuddering underneath my jacket. I crank up the heat in the car even though I know it’s not the cold doing that. She’s scared. In shock. Terrified even. And why wouldn’t she be? I let down my guard and nearly got us both killed.

  The first time we got shot at, she barely registered it. When I dragged her away to my place, she thought she was safe. Fear hadn’t even factor into it.

  I slam my palm against the steering wheel. How could I have been so fucking careless? I scowl at myself while I peer into the gloomy night. An occasional car whips past and I tighten my grip on the wheel, ready to move into action but they all ignore us, their lights disappearing into the night.

  A glance at Gray reminds me how close I came to losing everything. The past—the loss of my career, my wife, my child—would have been nothing compared to losing her. A deep, grating sensation like fingernails on the inside of my gut starts up.

  I lost my head and I nearly lost her.

  Not again, I tell myself. If I have to spend the rest of my days under an ice-cold fucking shower, I will not lose my head again. What kind of asshole am I to put my needs above her safety?

  I glance in the rear-view mirror. Enough light reveals the circles and lines around my eyes, etched deeper than ever. I’m a world-class asshole, that’s what. I throw my reflection a threatening glare before turning my attention to the quiet country road.

  The sounds of her shuddering breaths are my only company until morning light. I’m not sure if she slept properly but as the sun rises over the horizon, she stretches and rubs her eyes. Her hair is tousled from sleep and her eyes are lidded. If we were waking up in bed, it would be the perfect look. I’d be ready to throw her back down on the mattress and make that hair even more wild.

  But we’re not in bed. And we won’t be again if I can help it. We’re in a car, running from fuck knows who, and Gray should not have to be waking up like this.

  “Where are we?”

  “We’ll be stopping soon.”

  She peers at me. “You don’t know where we are?”

  “You’re safe,” is all I tell her.

  “What are we going to do now?”

  “Lay low for a little while. I need to contact Danny.”

  “Is that safe?”

  I eye her. “I just said you’re safe.”

  She blinks at me. I ignore the hurt look and pull into a gas station. She says something as I get out to fill up. I grab a few snacks and two drinks and pay with the cash I had hidden in the car. When I get back in, I pass them to Gray and leave without a word. Truth is, I don’t trust myself speaking to her. I’m that weak when it comes to her. Just one word from her, and I’ll probably be back on my knees, begging for a taste of that mouth or a touch of that hot pussy.

  “I’m not sure I’m hungry.” Gray eyes the pile of snacks on her lap.

  “Eat. You’ve had a shock and your body will need it.”

  She falls quiet. There’s a crackle as she opens the chips. She offers them to me but I shake my head.

  We continue in silence until we reach the motel I plan on using for a day or two. I hate it, the quiet. Normally it’s something I thrive on but it feels pervasive, dangerous. Gray is using the silence to think. Probably to question why I’m being a rude fucker. And the only conclusion she’ll come to is that I let her down. I nearly got us both killed and now I’m hating myself for being so damned weak.

  Fuck, what I wouldn’t give to have her smile. To have her trusting me again. With her body, with her life.

  With her heart…

  “Stay in the car,” I order after I’ve parked. “Keep out of sight.”

  She nods and hunkers down low. After securing a room for the night, I use another burner phone to call Danny with an update. When I return, she’s still there, all tucked up and tiny in the front of the car.

  I open the door and nod my head toward one of the rooms. She gets out, her sundress creased. The new clothes and toiletries were all abandoned at the safe house. I’ll have to get her some more. A beautiful girl like Gray doesn’t deserve to be wearing the same creased dress over and over.

  A hand to her back, I escort her into the motel room. I don’t think there’s a chance anyone can find us here—not yet at least—or else I wouldn’t have brought her here, but I do a quick check over the room before motioning for her to come fully in. Whoever was following us would have to be damned good to track us here.

  That said, we aren’t staying here long. I need somewhere else completely off grid, where no one can spot us.

  “Are you tired?” I ask as she stands in the center of the room, her arms wrapped around herself.

  I find myself more aware than ever of how tiny she is. Every inch of her, from her slender legs to her tiny waist and her big wide eyes eat into me. My heart throbs painfully against my chest. You nearly lost her, you nearly lost her, the thud reminds me.

  I see a shudder run from her head to her toes. Fuck. I step forward and pull her into my arms.

  Breathing in the scent of her, I rub my hands up and down her back. As badly as I want to keep my distance, I can’t let her be scared.

  “I’ve got you,” I remind her. “I swear on my life, nothing will happen to you. You’re safe.”

  “You were nearly killed,” she mumbles against my chest.

  “Never.” I draw back and hold her face in my hands. “It would take more than that to make me leave your side.” I sweep aside a strand of hair. “You’re safe, Little One,” I repeat. “I’ll always make sure of that.”

  She nods and tucks her head back against my chest. I hold her there for a while, until the tension begins to ease from her body.

  I clench my jaw. How dare those fucking assholes drag her into this? How dare they make her scared? I want to hunt them down and tear them limb from limb for ever making her feel this way. I would, too, if I didn’t have more important stuff to do.

  “Danny is going to find these guys,” I tell her. “We’ve got a leak but he’ll plug it. In the meantime, we’ll lay low.”

  “And they won’t find us this time?” She looks up at me, her eyes so damned trusting.

  “They won’t,” I vow.

  I think it’s unlikely, but it’s a lie. Whoever these guys are, they’re dangerous, powerful, and probably have enough money to buy anyone. If they got to one of our guys, I can’t afford to be careless.

  Holding her until her breathing slows, I ease her out of my arms. I haven’t slept for hours and my eyes are gritty but blood pumps through my veins. I could say it’s adrenaline but that would be a lie.

  It’s Gray. It’s always Gray.

  I need some distance but she…she needs comfort.

  Taking her hand, I lead her into the bathroom and push back the shower curtain. The tiles are tinged with mold and the shower tray is yellow from age. I hate that she even has to step foot in a shithole like this but we don’t have much choice. We both need rest and I need to figure out our next step. I know where we can go but I don’t know if it’s a viable option yet.

  “Take a shower.” I grab the complimentary soap that’s still in its wrapper and put it into her hands. “You need warmth. You’ll feel better after.”

  “Valentine…”

  I cut her off by slipping down one strap of her dress. I don’t know what she’s going to say. I don’t want to know. It will be a plea. Begging for me to take her and make her feel like she did before in my arms. But how can I let down my guard again?

  When I push down the other strap and guide the fabric over her beautiful body, I force myself to forget it all. Forget the smooth feel of her skin, the fragrance of her sweet cunt, the way she spasms around me. I treat her like I would any other job—cold, callous, uncaring.

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